Garden studios & offices

Any outdoor building represents a considerable investment – in time and effort, as much as hard earned cash – so it pays to make sure that you get the right one. While much of that depends on what you expect it to do, there are a number of general things to consider when selecting any kind of building for your garden.

The useful lifespan of any wooden building depends on the quality of the timber used and the standard of construction, making the old adage that “you get what you pay for” a very good general guide. It is always worthwhile looking at finished examples of the buildings you are thinking about buying, if you possibly can, before you make up your mind and comparing them carefully to see what the difference in cost actually buys you. Most suppliers and big outlets will have “show” buildings and any time spent looking round them will be worth it in the long run.

Inspect the cladding from the inside to see if any gaps allow daylight through – this will give you a very good indication of the overall build quality. There are many types of cladding including tongue-and-groove, feather-edged weatherboard, rebated weatherboard, waney-edged and ship-lap. Of these, tongue-and-groove, rebated weatherboard and ship-lap give the best general weather protection; overlapping waneyedged and feather-edged weatherboard can warp if they are too thin and are generally a little less weather-proof than the more expensive styles of cladding.

Other features to look for in the best quality wooden buildings are strong internal frames, solid, cross-braced doors with strong hinges and locks, well-fitting windows, a strong roof covered in thick felt and a firm floor. The timber itself should ideally be naturally rotresistant, such as cedar although cheaper sheds made from properly pressure treated softwoods can be very good alternatives, especially if well cared for and regularly treated and maintained.

Garden rooms can be purpose built to become a garden office, gym or studio, constructed to meet your needs and expectations.

These bespoke buildings are not just built for summer use either: they can genuinely habitable all of the year, with full insulation (noise and heat) and with all the services that you require in your garden room, be it running water or telephone and Internet connections.

With stunning designs and many hundreds of happy customers across the UK our garden buildings offer the practical solution to your need for extra space, be it for a garden office, music studio, leisure room, den or just a room in that peaceful place that is your garden.

Please enable JavaScript to view comments powered by Disqus.

Best Residential Landscape Architects - Greater London

~ BUILD Awards 2019

Garden Designer of the Year UK

~ LUX Awards 2018

Leading Garden Designers of Today

~ House & Garden

The property name you need to know

~ Financial Times

Chelsea's Leading Lady

~ Daily Mail

The best boutique landscape designers

~

Jo Thompson’s show garden for Wedgwood shows how it’s done

~ The Guardian

What people are saying in the media

The UK’s leading plantswoman

Known as the UK’s leading plantswoman and working on some of the world’s most prestigious landscaping projects, Jo is considered one of the thought-leaders in garden design.